


If Tomorrow Turns to Dust

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-02
Updated: 2013-01-02
Packaged: 2017-11-23 08:39:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/620186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eight months ago aliens invaded earth. Jensen ran, and along the way he met Jared. Now, a missed opportunity to turn their friendship into more has left him a little reckless. He really should have stayed at the house.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If Tomorrow Turns to Dust

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nightrider101](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightrider101/gifts).



> I tried to incorporate as many of yours likes as possible: hurt!Jensen, schmoop, a little angst, and misunderstandings. There’s a hint of your prompt ‘First time/getting together and realizing they should have been doing this all along’ but for the most part I embraced your willingness to let me surprise you. I hope you like it!

Eight months ago, unidentified ships landed in cities across the globe.

For over a week they remained dormant. There was no movement inside or out. The ships were examined, news broadcasts took hold of every station, and no one dared touch them. It was on the 22nd of April that that finally changed. The doors opened and out swarmed and endless number of _creatures_. Aliens, Jensen had mouthed to himself. He’d been a fan of science fiction most of his life, but never had he thought he’d see the day alien life would come into contact with earth. Never had he thought he'd see the day alien life attacked earth, for that matter.

It was on the 22nd of April that he decided to run. He’d packed a bag with a few essentials and, with no destination in mind other than _away_ , he ran. He ran for two months straight, and while he stopped in cities along the way he never stayed for more than a few days. He met other survivors who were moving just as aimlessly as he was. A few invited him to join them, but he politely declined. His argument was that he traveled better on his own. He painted himself as a lone wolf of sorts, but honestly? He couldn’t bear the idea of becoming attached to somebody only to have him or her ripped away.

So he continued on alone. 

It wasn’t until, late one night, the truck he was driving nearly collided with another that was stalled on the side of the road. That was when everything changed.

That was when he met Jared.

 

-

 

Across the room, Jared stood hunched over the kitchen table. Jeff was at his side, gesturing to something on the map they were studying, and Jensen’s mouth twisted at the sight. 

“If looks could kill,” a voice sang to his left. 

He turned and saw Seb standing at the foot of the staircase. He immediately turned away, dead-set on ignoring him, but Seb could already tell that he’d gotten to him. “Jealousy isn’t very becoming,” he said as he walked up behind the sofa. “If I were you, I’d march right over there and stake my claim.”

“We’re just friends.”

Fingers drummed against the back of the sofa. “That’s probably best, seeing as the number of times he and Jeff have disappeared upstairs together.”

“Whatever,” he huffed quietly. “What do you want, anyway?” 

A moment later Seb was beside him. He took a seat on the sofa and scooted closer until their thighs were touching. “I was just stopping by to invite you to a little rendezvous tomorrow morning,” he said. “Jake and I plan to check out the city; we hear it’s barely been touched and there’re plenty of things to get our hands on.”

“Plenty of Dusters there, too. Ever think about why it’s barely been touched?” He arched a brow but Seb didn’t seem fazed.

“Nothing the three of us can’t handle, I’m sure.”

“Sorry, I’m not suicidal. Anyway, Jared and I—”

“Right. You and Jared.” Seb waited until Jensen met his eye and then jerked his head toward the kitchen. “You know what they’re talking about in there, right? They’re making plans to pack up and leave all our gorgeous asses behind.”

“Bullshit.”

“’fraid not, darling. They’ve got the same place circled on all those maps. They’re planning the best route to get there and all I’ve heard is _the two of us_ this and _the two of us_ that. No mention of you, me, or Jake.”

“Again, bullshit. Jared isn’t like that.”

“Believe what you want, I’m only stating the facts.”

Jensen rolled his eyes and went back to pretending to read the book in his hands. After a moment or two he felt Seb stand up from the sofa. As he passed in front of him, he added, “We’re leaving at six, by the way. In case you change your mind.”

Then he was gone.

Jensen set his book back down on his lap and cast one more glance toward the kitchen. He was suddenly aware of just how close the two were standing. They laughed about something, and then Jared looked back over his shoulder. He caught Jensen’s eye and winked. Jensen mustered half a smile in return.

The earth they knew was gone. They were under attack by goddamn aliens—or Dusters, as they’d come to be known. Seeing as if you met the barrel of one of their guns, that was what you were: dust. 

If there was ever a time to throw caution to the wind and just _go for it_ , it was now. And he’d blown it.

 

-

 

_“Who else you traveling with?”_

The man stood beside Jensen’s truck, duffle swung over his shoulder. He raised his brow and asked, _“What? You think I got someone hidden in my bag?”_

Jensen frowned. _“I can take you to the next abandoned car we see, then you’re on your own.”_

_“Fine by me, man.”_

He’d hopped in the cab and immediately began to fiddle with the radio. Jensen had tensed, but didn’t breathe a word. He’d be rid of him soon enough. 

_“What’s your name, then?”_ He asked.

_“Jared.”_

_“Jensen.”_

_“Thanks for stopping, Jensen. Can’t seem to fix the damn thing and was about to start walking when you came along.”_

_“No problem.”_

Silence followed, filled only by the static of each station Jared rolled through. Jensen kept his eyes trained on the empty road ahead. 

_“You aren’t going to find anything on the radio, you know. Stations went out a while back.”_

_“Oh, I know. But it doesn’t hurt to try.”_

He’d flashed Jensen this smile that was nothing short of brilliant, and while he’d shrugged in response he could feel his heart warm a little. It was then that he’d recognized what he’d been missing.

Hope.

 

-

 

He was up around five thirty the next morning, unable to sleep.

After tossing and turning some, he got up and out of bed. His feet hit the cool hardwood floor and he walked out into the hall. When they’d gotten here, the walls had been speckled with family photos and school portraits that portrayed each awkward year of the children’s lives. They weren’t sure what had become of the former owners, nor did they want to know. All that mattered was that they were no longer living there which meant they were free to claim it as their own.

He and Jared had taken the photos down and stored them in the hall closet.

They’d been here maybe three weeks now. It was last week that Jeff and his crew had stumbled upon them. Jensen couldn’t remember if Jared had been the one who invited them to stay, or if they’d simply made the decision on their own. He’d like to think the latter, but he gets a feeling it was the former.

He stepped across the hall, to Jared’s room, and raised his hand to knock. Before he could, however, he noticed the faint glow on the floorboards and the rumble of voices inside. He leaned in and listened, just able to make out the words.

“Two hundred fifty miles. We’ll bring two cars in case one breaks down,” Jeff’s voice said.

“And what about Jensen?” He heard Jared ask.

“What about him?”

“I was thinking I’d tell him today.”

“That’s your call.”

“He’s going to wonder where we’re going.”

“I’d say so.”

“Fuck. I should have told him a while ago. Shouldn't have let it go this long…”

“Hey, you were the one who said keeping it from him was for the best.”

There was a long pause, and finally Jared mumbled, “Well… yeah. I didn’t want him to get… you know.”

“I know. But you’re sure of this now, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

It was enough to make him take a step back. 

Jared had never given him reason not to trust him. Last night he’d been sure Seb was just trying to stir some drama up, but now… he wasn’t sure what to think.

His heart was somewhere in his stomach and he turned to head back to his room. Before he could take a step, however, he found himself face to face with Seb.

“I tried to tell you, champ.”

He ignored him. His gaze averted itself to the floor and he tried to walk around him, but Seb moved with him.

“How does a trip into the city sound?” He asked. “Little time to clear your head?”

It sounded like just as terrible of an idea as it did the night before. But his mind was whirring and he didn’t really want to be around Jared right now. So he squared his shoulders and nodded. “Fine,” he said. Then he jerked his head toward his room. “Just let me grab a few things.”

“Meet you downstairs.”

 

-

 

Once the Dusters landed on earth, everything changed. 

Fate became uncertain and tomorrow was no longer a guarantee.

There was a certain comfort in having a daily routine. The alarm clock each morning, a shower and then breakfast; the headache that was morning traffic followed by work; top it off with meeting up with a few friends at the bar and then dinner at home before falling asleep in front of the television. It was easy to become lost in it. To allow it to guide you through each day. Jensen certainly had. It wasn’t until the Dusters landed that he realized how little he’d actually _lived_

Driving through devastated landscape and dodging aliens hell-bent on destroying any and all human life—it wasn’t something most thought they’d be capable of, but now it was just another day. 

It was exhilarating. It was exciting. It was as if, for the first time, he was alive.

He had a new outlook on life, and his perspective on many things had changed. 

He was a guarded person by nature. He’d always held his cards close to his chest. Somebody could go a couple years knowing him before they’d really begin to _know_ him. But now? Keeping those little things to himself didn’t seem as important. He was in the car with Jared for less than an hour before he’d told him he was gay. How the subject even came up, he wasn’t sure.

They talked about relationships. They talked about family. They talked about anything and everything. They just clicked, he and Jared.

He didn’t stop when they passed the first abandoned car.

He didn’t stop when they passed the second, third, or fourth.

And Jared, he didn’t say a word.

After two weeks, Jensen admitted that he’d heard rumblings about a camp. He wasn’t sure where, but a couple survivors he’d run into earlier had mentioned it. It was probably bullshit, but he wouldn’t mind finding it. He wouldn’t mind having somewhere safe to rest. He wouldn’t mind having a life again.

_“You miss it? Your previous life, I mean?”_

_“Not as much as I thought I would,”_ he’d admitted.

 _“Me either,”_ Jared said. _“It was crap, anyway. And a camp sounds real nice.”_

Jensen had smiled.

 

-

 

“So far, so good.”

They drove into the city in the SUV Jeff’s crew had arrived in. Jensen sat in the backset, spine straight and eyes trained on the grounds around them. They rolled slowly down the road. Everything was eerily still, the morning light just beginning to grace the buildings that towered around them. 

“This was one of the cities that was evacuated, you know,” Jake said from the front seat. 

“Where’d they take everyone?” Jensen heard himself ask, and Jake glanced back at him.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

Jensen frowned. His hand slipped to his side and he brushed a thumb over the gun strapped to his thigh. Not that guns did much good. They might buy you a couple more seconds, but you were dust in the end either way. 

Seb slowed the car and rolled into the parking lot of some big box department store.

“What’a you think, boys?”

“Looks good,” Jake chimed and Jensen didn’t respond. He wasn’t sure why he’d come anymore. The right thing to do would have been talk with Jared like an adult, not run away. Run away to his possible death, no less. He drew a slow breath in and Seb pulled the keys from the ignition. They got out of the car and walked to the doors, which had been smashed in who knows how long ago. The glass coating the sidewalk had been ground to a fine material and the sight made Jensen’s heart chug a little faster inside his chest. It was a sign of traffic; a sign that they weren’t alone. But he kept in step behind them and didn’t say a word.

“Sleeping bags and blankets, right Jake?” Seb said as they walked inside. 

“Right,” Jake replied.

Each of them grabbed a cart and only when they began to break apart did Jensen speak up.

“We should stay together,” He shouted, and both glanced back at him.

“Cover more ground apart. Aren’t you the one that didn’t want to come in the first place?” Jake teased. “Figured you’d want to get out of here as quickly as possible.”

“Precisely,” Seb agreed. 

He sort of felt like he was in high school again—always on the losing side of the argument. He huffed quietly and while he wanted to explain how obviously flawed that plan was, he didn’t quite have it in him.

“Fine,” he muttered and they took off ahead in opposite directions. 

Jensen carried on, alone.

In the first aisle he found lanterns and flashlights. In the second he found batteries. In the third he found hunting gear, and he was about to reach for a box of instant heat packs when he heard something. He froze in place and listened. Sure enough, he could hear the quiet tread of feet accompanied by the click of talon-like claws against the tiled floor.

Crap.

He looked from side to side but didn’t see a place to hide. He couldn’t judge how far away the footsteps were exactly; all he knew was that they were close. He abandoned his cart and darted to the end of the aisle. “Seb, Jake,” he hissed. No one answered. The bastards were probably already hiding and he cursed silently.

Before he could turn to run, he felt something on his shoulder, he felt hot breath against his neck, and he hear a quiet series of clicks.

His blood ran cold and he closed his eyes.

 

-

 

There was a kiss.

One kiss.

Between he and Jared.

They’d been traveling together maybe two months, and had been camping in this field for a few nights. The fire was crackling and Jared had tugged a bottle of Jack from his bag. _“Might’ve gotten an item or two that wasn’t on the list during our supply run,”_ he’d said and Jensen had laughed as he clapped his hands together.

Over the next couple hours, they’d sat around the fire and traded the bottle back and forth. The liquor warmed from the inside out and by the time the bottle was three quarters gone, they’d moved onto the topic of the end.

 _“Any regrets?”_ Jared had asked. _“If we met a Duster tomorrow and—”_ He’d snapped his fingers. _“—that was it. Would you have any regrets?”_

Jensen had considered the question for a long moment.

 _“I guess,”_ he’d said. _“I guess I wish I’d spent a little less time at work and a little more with my friends. I wish I’d gotten to say goodbye to them. My friends, I mean. I wish I’d had a chance to tell my dad to fuck off.”_ He’d chuckled a little at that and Jared had smiled at him softly. Then he’d lowered his voice and said, _“I wish I’d done a lot of things differently, but now… nothing I can do about it all now.”_ He’d paused and looked up at Jared. _“What about you?”_

 _“Well.”_

Jared had met his gaze and leaned in. He’d met his lips in a dizzying kiss. Seconds seemed to the stretch into hours, and when Jared pulled away he was smiling. 

_“Now?”_ He’d said. _“Nothing.”_

 

-

 

He turned slowly.

His heart hammered in his chest and when he finally willed himself to open his eyes, he found himself inches from a Duster. Its wide, glassy eyes studied him. It peered curiously at him, tilting its head from left to right, and then it took a step back. A series of clicks fell from its tongue, a language Jensen wish he understood but didn’t. Maybe he could reason with it. Maybe he could find out what it wanted.

It was too late for that, though.

It lifted its gun and aimed it at his chest. He swallowed thickly and in a futile attempt to buy himself maybe another minute, he hurled himself to the side. The sound of the gun firing was deafening. The world around him gave way to a dull buzz. White-hot heat sliced through his body and as he hit the floor everything went black.

This was what it felt like, then.

This was what it felt like to die.

He really should have stayed at the house.

Even if Jared was planning to run off with Jeff, he could have at least had one more day with him. 

One more day would have been infinitely better than this.

 

-

 

They didn’t talk about the kiss.

By morning they were a little hung over and woke up to commotion echoing through the trees, maybe a few miles off. They’d moved quickly; packed up the truck and taken off. 

He got the feeling Jared had wanted to talk. Jared always wanted to talk, but he got the feeling he’d wanted to talk about what had happened between them. But Jensen was a coward. No matter how much he thought the past months had changed him, he realized he was still the same man at heart. The same man who favored certainty and feared change. He and Jared were friends—that he was certain of. A kiss confused that. It put a wrench in the comfortable routine they’d fallen into.

So he kept his mouth shut and Jared drove. He didn’t fiddle with the radio. He didn’t chatter aimlessly or purpose a game of twenty questions. He just drove, and the silence was worse than anything Jensen had experienced yet.

If he had one regret, it was that. Not saying anything.

If he had another regret, it was not kissing him again. And again. 

He’d really liked kissing him.

 

-

 

Humming.

The dull sound of somebody humming filled his ears as he came to.

The next thing he registered was pain; pain in his arm, pain in his hip and leg. His entire right side ached and as he cracked an eye, Jared came into focus. His eyes were closed and he was leaning back in a chair, feet propped up on the edge of the bed.

He was in a bed. His bed. Well, not _his_ bed but the bed he'd been using for the past weeks. He blinked a few times and waited for everything to come into focus. As he did so, Jared cracked an eye and smiled a little when he saw him.

“Hey,” he said quietly. He leaned in and smoothed a palm down Jensen’s cheek.

Gingerly, he lifted his own hand. Pulled it out from beneath the blankets and blanked Jared's with it. “M’alive,” was what he said. It made Jared laugh. He'd missed that laugh.

“Sure are.” Then his smiled faded and he said, “You scared the shit out of me, you know. Running off with those two idiots. I mean—what were you thinking?”

“Wasn’t,” he admitted quietly. He cleared his throat and lifted his head a notch to look down at his body. “What happened, anyway?” 

Pushed the blankets aside, he saw that he was dressed in loose sweats and a long-sleeved t-shirt. Both Jared’s, judging from the way they hung on him. He brought his right hand up and brushed it up under the t-shirt. Bandages wrapped his side and he could feel his thigh and bicep wrapped as well.

“You were hit,” Jared said. “Must have just nicked your right side, though because… well. You’re still here. Jeff patched you up. He was a doctor, you know. Before.”

“Hm.” He hummed lightly and Jared frowned.

“He’s a good guy, Jensen. I know you don’t like him but—”

“I like him,” he muttered. “I just don’t like that you like him so much.”

Jared pulled his hand from back from his cheek. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked.

“M’jealous, that’s all. And angry that I didn’t make my move before he did.” He heaved a quiet sigh. “Too late now, though. You two are going to run off together and I’m going to be on my own again. I’m not a lone wolf, Jay. I liked to think that I was, but it was a lie.”

“Okay, okay,” Jared patted his shoulder. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

"I heard you. Talking about leaving with Jeff."

“I’m not going anywhere with Jeff,” Jared said, raising his voice a little. “Well, I am, but you are too. Not right away, though—we have to wait until you’re better.”

He shook his head. “You two were talking about someplace on your maps,” he said. “And how you didn’t want to tell me and—”

“Oh.” Jared cut him off. “That.”

“Yeah, that.” He could feel his heart beginning plummet again, but the small smile that turned Jared's lips confused him a little. He shouldn't be happy right now. He'd been found out. He should feel guilty or... something. Instead, the smile grew and he squeezed Jensen's shoulder lightly.

“It’s a camp,” he said. “The place on the maps. It's a camp.”

“A camp?” He repeated, and Jared nodded.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you had your heart set on one. I didn't want you to be disappointed so I had to be sure before I said anything. But Jeff—he’s been looking too, and he figured out where it is. It’s where they took everyone from the evacuated cities. It's where everyone else has been going. It’s safe and it’s only a couple hundred miles away.”

“Y—you're serious.” His voice quivered a little and Jared nodded.

“Yeah.”

“But Seb—”

“Right. Seb.” He huffed at the name. “The guy who took you into the fucking city and used you as bait so he and Jake got away with all the supplies they’d stolen. He’s a jackass. Jeff has been waiting to boot him from his crew for months now. And now he’s pissed because Jeff told him he could find his own way to the camp if he wanted, but he wasn’t coming with us.”

His head was still a little fuzzy, but clear enough for him to recognize how stupid he’d been. How blind. He swallowed thickly and drew a calculated breath in. 

“So,” he said slowly. “You and Jeff aren’t together. You aren’t taking off. And I’m—I’m an idiot.” 

“Sort of,” Jared said. Then he chuckled lightly and leaned in a little closer. “But you’re an idiot who’s alive, and the latter is what matter most to me.”

He rested his forehead against Jensen's. Long wisps of his hair tickled his cheeks and chin, but they remained like that for a minute. Maybe two. Jensen lifted his uninjured arm. He curled his fingers around the back of Jared's neck and whispered, 

“I was thinking, you know.”

“Yeah?”

“When I was face to face with the Duster, about to die, there was only one thing I could think of.”

Jared pulled back a few inches. The corner of his mouth tugged into half a smile and he asked, “What was that?”

He drew Jared back in. Closer and closer, until there was barely an inch of space between them. He captured his lips with his own.

“That,” he said quietly as he pulled away. Then he pulled Jared back in for one more.

Regret wasn't something he'd be going out with.

Not anymore, at least.


End file.
